The walking dead, my way
by GenericAuthor01
Summary: Essentially what I think would have happened had Carley lived, I'll try to update whenever I can, but I'm super lazy. I hope you enjoy it. (Constructive criticism appreciated.)
1. Chapter 1

The Motor Inn had just been ransacked by raiders, the group of eight were speeding down the highway in Kenny's RV. Lilly was pacing up and down the RV, mumbling to herself. Kenny, Katjaa and Duck were in the front, completely silent. Carley, Lee and Clem were on the couch, all were contemplating their future now that they were homeless. Ben sat in the back, alone.

"Which one of you betrayed us?" Lilly demanded, a look of complete and utter rage nobody in the group had seen before. Her dark eyes burned with hatred and grief, a dangerous cocktail.

"It doesn't matter, Lilly. Regardless of who betrayed us we still need to find a place to live so we can stay alive." Lee tried to diffuse the situation and be as diplomatic as he could. But Lilly wasn't having any of it, she was inconsolable, still reeling from the untimely death of her beloved father.

"Of course it matters, Lee! How do we know that the traitor won't do something like this again? What if Clementine died in the motor inn? Would you still not care who the traitor was?" Suddenly, the RV came to a screeching halt as a walker had become trapped underneath the RV. "Everybody out, now!" Lilly ordered.

One by one, everybody in the group, save for Katjaa and Duck was outside of the RV. "Kenny, there's some surface damage on the front bumper, but you're not going to get the RV started unless you pull the Walker out." Lilly walked from the front of the car to beside the door and started talking again in a calm, yet still terrifying tone. "Ben, who did it, you or Carley?"

"W-w-what? Lilly, I would never. I don't have anything to do with the supplies! I swear, please stop this. Let's all just go back ins-" Ben was cut off by the group's leader.

"Not happening, until we know definitely who did it, nobody is going back inside the van. You obviously had something to do with it" Lilly narrowed her eyes in disgust at Ben's cowardice.

"Stop this, this is cruel and you know it. You can push Ben around, but I refuse to have any part in this. I'm going back inside and when you're done playing interrogator you can join me" Carley was strong and refused to be bullied into submission by her self declared leader.

"Don't you dare go inside, we aren't done yet." Lilly commanded.

"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? That just because your dad is dead, you're suddenly immune from criticism and we can't answer back, well I have another thing coming, so excuse me while I take a much needed nap." Carley knew that Lilly was furious now, but didn't realise to what extent.

Lilly pulled out her pistol and squeezed the trigger, everything was in slow motion and Carley thought she had been shot for a second. But nothing happened, Lilly had run out of ammo during the siege, her clip was empty. Before she knew what she was doing Carley had dove onto Lilly and was slamming the taller woman's head into the road.

"Carley stop, now!" Lee was trying his best to rip his lover off of his friend. Eventually Kenny rushed over and helped to pull the young woman off of their leader.

"Why did you try to shoot me, you evil, sadistic fuck!" Carley's voice was hoarse with rage as Lee held her back by both arms.

Lilly slowly rose up from the road, her head was pounding and tears had formed in her eyes from the pain.

"You're staying here, you crazy bitch. You just tried to kill someone, you're too dangerous to be around. Next thing I know, you'll stab me because you don't like what I have to say about you." The Floridian man made a valid point, Lilly had just proven herself to be a liability to the safety of the group.

"She's got my vote" Carley said, still in shock from the recent attempt on her life by Lilly.

"Agreed" Clementine squeaked, trying to hold back tears.

"I don't want her around, either." Grumbled Ben, relieved that Lilly couldn't do anything to him.

"I think it's unanimous, Lilly. You need to go, you're too violent for us." Lee told his former leader.

"But I'll die out here, please, I'll do anything to stay. Just don't kick me out, I don't want to die!" Lilly pleaded to her group, in vain.

"You're not our problem now, everybody get back inside the RV." Lee told the group as they all went back inside.


	2. Chapter 2

As everyone walked into the RV, Lilly looked at every one of her former friends as they looked at her in complete and utter disgust. The shame mixed with the intense pain in her skull brought her to tears, she was a strong willed woman, but seeing all of the people she had spent the previous few months with abandon her at once was too much for her.

"Please, you've got to believe me, I didn't mean to pull out my gun. Carley didn't even get shot, give me another chance." Lilly was desperate not to get left behind, Walkers were all over these parts and herds had often come through town from this direction.

"Lilly, you were willing to kill someone over a disagreement, no matter how stressed you were there's no way that we can ever trust you again. If we can't trust you, we can't be around you." Lee was trying his best to let Lilly down gently, he understood why she needed to go but it still pained him, knowing that they were leaving her to almost certain death.

After a few tense moments, Lee walked into the RV and shut the door behind him, leaving the young woman to her fate as the RV sped off into the night.

Clementine sat next to Carley on the couch, trying her best to comfort the distraught journalist. "You don't have to worry, Carley. She's gone now and you're gonna be okay."

"I still can't believe she'd do something like that, I always knew she was a bitch-" Carley was immediately interrupted by Clementine.

"Swear." The impressionable young girl said.

"Sorry Clem, I meant jerk. I always knew that she was a jerk but I didn't think she'd try to kill me over something so trivial." Carley sighed and put her head on the side of the cabinet. "I'm going to try and get some sleep, Clem. Go talk to Lee or something."

With that, Clementine immediately walked over to the table and sat herself down next to Lee. "Lee?" The young girl asked.

"Yes, Sweet Pea?" Replied Lee, he was worried about the impact the argument had had on the young girl. She'd already been exposed to so much.

"Why did Lilly try to kill Carley?" Lee was taken aback by this, he looked over to Carley who was noticeably unsettled by the little girl's question.

"Well, you see, Lilly was very sad about her dad dying and the motor inn being attacked, she was having a really hard time and when you're sad and angry it can make you do bad things." Lee tried his best to explain it to Clementine, but he worried that it would make her more scared than she already was.

"But didn't you kill someone before, they weren't even a walker. Why do you get to stay and not Lilly?" Clementine looked up at Lee, curious as to what he would say.

"Because that was before the walkers came along, it doesn't mean that what I did was okay, but it means that it's not relevant. Lilly was dangerous to us, I'm not dangerous to us. Do you understand, Clem?" Lee looked into Clementine's eyes, trying to comfort her and make sure that she knew that her concerns mattered to him.

"I guess so, it still sucks that we had to kick her out. She was nice to me before Larry died. After that she just started she just started shouting all the time." Clem looked out of the window, trying to distract herself.

"I know, Clem. It does suck." Lee looked over to Carley, still visibly upset from earlier. "I'm gonna go talk to Carley, talk to me if you need anything." Clem said nothing and continued to stare out the window.

"You okay, Carley?" Lee asked, hoping for a positive answer.

"Kinda, I'm not great. I just can't help but be terrified knowing that if even one bullet was in Lilly's gun, I'd be dead." Carley sighed and looked over at Clementine. "Poor kid, she's been through so much. At least Duck has his parents, Clementine's are nowhere to be found. I hope she isn't scared of me because I attacked Lilly."

"Nah, she's seen far worse. That's not a good thing, but it isn't going to hurt your relationship with Clem, she's not going to be angry with you or anything." Lee looked over to the front of the RV, worried about Duck and Katjaa. During the siege, the two had been in the most danger out of all of them, he hoped that they were okay.

"Lee, I've got to try and get some sleep, for real this time. Only wake me if it's an emergency. Goodnight." Carley stretched out onto the couch, with her back to the rest of the passengers.

"Hey Lee, come up here for a sec, would ya?" This was the first time in a few hours since Kenny had spoken, there was a sense of worry in the Floridian mans voice. As though something horrible had occured.

Lee walked up the RV in dread, trailing his hand across the sickly beige walls to keep his balance. Dread built in his stomach and he tried to drag his feet to delay receiving whatever horrible news Kenny had prepared for him. After what felt like an eternity he reached the front of the RV and dipped his head into the front compartment.

"What's the matter, Kenny?" Lee asked, hoping for some good news.

"It's Duck, he's been bitten. Durin' the attack he was bitten in the thigh by a walker. We're keepin' an eye on 'im but we thought it best that we let you know, you've been honest with us this whole time and we figured we owed you the same." Kenny looked forward through the windshield, trying to keep focus on the road but also to avoid the look of pity on Lee's face.

Kenny was a proud man, he had built his fishing business from the ground up and everything he had owned in the past he worked for. He hated pity and having people feel sorry for him, so he couldn't bear the thought of Lee and the rest of the group feeling sorry for him.

"Oh god, Kenny. You need to stop the RV, Duck will turn." Lee was in utter shock, Duck was so energetic this morning and to see him reduced to this was devastating.

"You don't know that, Lee. Don't say that, we don't know how this works, Duck's not like the others. He's strong and he can fight this." Kenny was starting to get defensive over his boy, it felt like he was back at the pharmacy and Larry was trying to toss his son out for the walkers to eat.

"His breathing is fine, I'm just going to monitor him for now." Katjaa was in denial, she refused to acknowledge that Duck was doomed.

"We just thought we should let you know, now get to the back. We have a long drive ahead and I need you all rested." Kenny refused to listen to Lee, so Lee saw no point in continuing the conversation.

As Lee walked into the back of the RV, Clem waved him over. Patting the seat next to her. "I want to sleep next to you, you keep me safe. I promise I don't snore."

"Sure Clem, whatever you want. I hope you don't mind if I do snore." Lee ruffled Clementine's hair underneath her hat.

"That's okay, you keep the Walkers away." Clem cuddled up to him and fell asleep soon after. Lee eventually found himself drifting off to sleep, giving him respite from his worries. If only for a little while


	3. Chapter 3

Lee woke up from his sleep, no dreams, no nightmares, nothing. A blessing, considering what he had gone through in the previous months. He looked to his left and saw Clementine leaning on him, still asleep. She looked so peaceful in spite of all the horrific things she had suffered through.

Lee got up slowly in order to make sure that she stayed asleep, she'd been struggling with night terrors and she needed the rest. Lee walked up the front of the RV and saw Duck. He looked horrible, grey, eyes devoid of any sort of hope and he was limp in his mothers arms.

"Kenny, stop the RV. Now." Lee whispered. He needed Kenny to see sense or they'd all be killed.

"No, Lee. We're makin' good time, go back to sleep we still have a good drive ahead." Kenny refused to acknowledge the situation his son was in.

"Look at your boy, he's dying. You know what happens next." Lee was horrified at the young boys condition.

"No he ain't, Lee. Shut up about this crap, Duck will be fine, get the fuck away from him before I lose my patience." Kenny wasn't having any of it, Lee knew there was no way of convincing Kenny to stop the RV and so walked to the back of the RV.

"Lee, are you okay? Do you have any food to eat, I'm hungry." Clementine was sitting on the couch next to a now awake Carley.

"Sorry Clem, I don't have any food. I can look around for something if you like. Carley, did you sleep well?" Lee wondered how she was feeling, seeing as she'd had a close call with death last night.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just contemplating my mortality. No big deal" Lee had grown to like her sarcasm over the past few months. "Now that I think about it, I think I have something in my pocket for Clem." Carley dug through her coat pocket and scooped out an energy bar. "Here you go kid, sorry if you don't like the flavour."

Clementine looked up at Carley, greatful for at least something to eat. Even if it did have raisins in it. "Thank you, Carley."

"Awful nice of you, Carley." Lee was happy that Clementine was getting a bit of nutrition, especially because she had been losing weight from the meager amount of food she'd been recieving recently.

"I'm an awful nice person, Lee" Carley looked back at Lee, a small smile on her face.

"Oh fuck! God damn it, a train! A god damn, motherfuckin' train! Can I ever catch a fuckin' break? Just once, why can't somethin' go right?" Kenny was furious, he slammed the brakes on and flung Ben from his seat onto the floor, waking the young man from his sleep.

"Ben, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Clementine looked over at Ben, concerned for her friend's wellbeing.

"Yeah, I'm fine Clementine. Thank you." Ben hadn't spoken since last night, a part of him was guilty that Carley could have been killed by Lilly over his mistake. Though he saw no reason to come forward.

"Everybody out. Lee, you and I are gonna try and see if we can get around the train or move it. The rest of y'all can wait outside, see about getting Duck some medicine or somethin'." Lee sighed and followed Kenny to the train.

Carley, Katjaa, Ben, Duck and Clementine made a small circle a short distance from the train. Clementine and Carley sat together on a dead log, Katjaa had Duck on her lap and comforted him as he died, Ben sat on the dirt with his knees to his chest.

"Carley, do you think that the world is going to go back to normal? I don't like the Walkers." Clementine was desperate to hear something comforting but Carley knew she couldn't lie to her.

"No, I don't. But, I do think that the world will get better than this, humans persevere and will find a way to survive this new world. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but I'm not going to lie to you because it'll only make you feel worse later." Carley sighed, she was trying to comfort the young girl but she knew that lying to her would only make her feel worse when the world didn't go back to normal.

"Oh, okay. Thanks Carley." Clementine looked down at the ground, then over to Duck. "He's bitten, isn't he?"

Katjaa didn't respond to the young girls question, too overwhelmed with grief to notice.

"Lee get in here, there's a walker in the control room." Kenny waved Lee over, busy with the task at hand.

"Eww, you never really get used to the smell, do ya?" Lee said, severely grossed out by the situation.

"You got a weapon? Something like a wrench or a screwdriver, no guns. Makes noise, brings walkers." Kenny stared into the door. Focused, like a Fox to a Rabbit.

"I'll go check, there's got to be something around" Lee walked down the rail and opened a maintenance hatch. "Bingo. Kenny, I got something." Lee walked back over to Kenny and handed him a Spanner.

"On the count of three. One, two, three!" Kenny opened the door and smashed the Spanner into the corpse's head. "Ah, fuck. He's been dead all along, poor bastard. Probably died on impact. His brains were all over the control panel." Kenny observed as he pulled his corpse outside and threw it next to the tracks.

"Disgusting, I'm going to try and start the train." Kennny walked over to the left of the control room and found a notepad. "There's some markings on the paper, I can't make 'em out. You take 'em, see if you can fill 'em in." Kenny tossed the notepad over to Lee.

"Alright, if you say so, Kenny." Lee said as he walked out the door, he thought back to Clementine at the Motor Inn, she loved those leaf rubbings. Maybe she still had a pencil on her.

Lee hopped out of the train cart and walked over to the group, a strange man was sitting on the dirt and was talking to Katjaa. "Are you alright, Clem?" Lee inquired, trying to make sure that she was safe.

"I'm fine, Lee. Look, he gave us candy!" She squealed in delight as she downed a handful of the brightly coloured sweets.

"Do they taste funny, Clem?" Lee was concerned about the state of the candy she was given.

"They're fine, Lee. The pack was sealed before he gave them to her, they haven't been tampered with. Relax, everything's fine." Carley made sure to assure Lee that Clementine was okay, nothing bad would come to his young charge.

"If you say so, Clem, back at the Motor Inn you made lots of those leaf rubbings. Is there any chance you have the pencil?" Lee hoped that Clementine had kept the pencil in her backpack.

"Yeah sure, here you go." Clementine searched through her bag and found her pencil, slightly chewed on. "I hope you don't mind the bite marks."

"Nah, it's fine, Sweet Pea. Thanks." Lee took the pencil in his right hand and pressed the tip against the paper, rubbing it from side to side revealing the way to start the train. "Yes! Got it!" Lee exclaimed, for once something had gone right.

"What's going on, Lee?" Carley inquired, curious as to what Lee's plan was.

"We're gonna be able to use the train! Go hundreds of miles in a twenty ton box of metal, we won't have to worry about Walkers for a while. We can just relax for a bit." Lee was ecstatic.

Chuck looked over to Lee, concerned about their plans. "I get to come along, right? You seem to be takin' my home." Chuck got up and walked over to Lee.

"You can come along, you seem like a nice guy." Lee couldn't get over how lucky they had gotten.

"Lee, I need you to get Kenny. Duck's not getting any better, I can't in good conscience allow him to the suffer like this any longer. I promised myself I'd never let him turn, I need to keep my promise." Katjaa was in tears, barely able to push the words off of her tongue out of her mouth. She felt an unimaginable amount of grief, barely able to keep it together long enough to form a sentence.

"Oh, sure. I'll get him now." Lee walked back over to the train, mentally bracing himself for Kenny's reaction.


	4. Chapter 4

As Lee walked into the control room, a sense of dread built up in his empty stomach. He braced himself mentally as he opened the door, ready to take the abuse.

"Kenny, I need to talk t-" Lee was interrupted by Kenny stomping his foot on the ground.

"Fuck! I can't get the train to start, have you got the instructions yet?" Kenny demanded, anxious to get the train going.

"Oh yeah, here you go, Kenny." Lee was nervous about telling his friend about his son, Katjaa needed him to do it and he felt like such a coward as he saw Kenny look over the notepad and adjust the controls.

"Lee, I'm goin' to start the engine, round everyone onto the train will ya? Thanks." Kenny walked out of the room and Lee felt like a massive coward, he couldn't muster the courage to stand up to Kenny.

Kenny walked back in to the room and looked at him, puzzled. "Lee, what are you standin' around for?" Kenny asked as he started the train.

Before he could answer, the train jerked violently. "Ah, fuck. The train is still attached to the carts, go detach 'em, Lee." Kenny ordered Lee, as he sat down in the chair with his arms outstretched.

Lee silently obeyed and went to the engine compartment to grab a wrench, he walked out of the train with his head down in disgrace. He refused to look at Katjaa knowing he'd failed her.

He walked over to the back of the train and saw the pin holding it in place, he took the wrench from his right hand and placed it underneath the pin and pressed down, forcing the pin up and out of the hole, freeing the front of the train.

Kenny walked out of the train and waved the group over. "All aboard!" Kenny yelled as everyone walked over.

"Fuck this." Lee walked over to Kenny and looked him straight in the eyes. "You need to take care of Duck, now!" Kenny looked back at Lee, astonished at the statement.

"Excuse me, Lee? We're taking care of our boy, I don't know what you're talkin' about." Lee glared back at Kenny, flabbergasted at his outright denial of Duck's condition.

"You know exactly what I am talking about, your boy is bitten! Even Katjaa knows we have to help him now, before he turns into a Walker!" Kenny closed his hands into fists and gritted his teeth.

"Get on the train, Lee and keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you." Kenny's eyes were lit up with rage, like a lioness defending her wounded cub.

"No, look at Duck, he's dying, we can't just drag this out. That boy is in pain, why continue his suffering? Why continue an already painful death?" Lee tried his best to reason with Kenny.

Before Lee could react, Kenny punched him straight across the face, drawing blood. "That is my boy! How dare you, you selfish prick! He ain't gonna die, you ain't gettin' on this train, take the keys to the RV and fuck off!" Kenny threw the keys at Lee's chest and grabbed Duck from Katjaa's arms.

"C'mon Kat, on the train." Kenny grabbed at Katjaa's arm, trying to guide her onto the train.

"No! Kenny, I love Duck more than life itself, but he's dying and he will soon be one of those things if we do not intervene. I asked Lee to get you to put Duck out of his misery, but it would seem you aren't strong enough. Give me Duck, now." Katjaa looked at Kenny in disgust, his behaviour appalled Katjaa and she knew she needed to help Duck, even if it meant killing him.

A single tear fell from Kenny's eye, he knew she was right but he couldn't bear the thought of killing his one and only child. "Please Kat, ain't there some kind of pill or whatever so he can drift off peacefully instead of shootin' him?"

"You and I both know it's either up here-" Katjaa pointed to her temple. "Or nothing."

"I'll do it, no parent should have to kill their child. I can take him into the woods and you can say your goodbyes before I put him down." Carley walked over to the grieving parents, trying her best to comfort the distraught couple.

"Are you sure about that, Carley? You'd be doing us a great service, I don't think we could ever repay you." Katjaa was absolutely devastated, her heart felt as if it was being slowly ripped out of her chest. Kenny had begun to cry quietly into his free hand and held Duck tight to his chest.

"No Carley, I'm his father. I have to be the one to help him, I need to step up for him after what I've put him through. Katjaa, are you coming with me?" Kenny looked over to his wife and hoped that she'd agree to come along.

"Yes dear, let's go. We have to do this together, let's make his last moments comfortable." Katjaa leaned on Kenny as the two walked into the forest with Duck to end his suffering.

Carley, Lee and Clementine looked on as their friends walked off to help their son one last time. "Lee, am I going to be bitten?" Clementine looked up at Lee, afraid of his answer.

"No Sweet Pea, not if I have anything to do with it. If you like I could teach you how to use a gun if that'd make you feel better." Lee knelt down to Clementine's level and held her hands in his. "Clem, I know you're scared, but you're gonna make it. You're smart, smarter than all of the walkers. You're going to be alright, just stick by me and do what I tell you to." Lee was desperate to make sure Clementine felt better, she'd become a daughter figure to him and seeing her growth made him so proud.

"Yeah Lee, that would make me feel better, I could fight back instead of running from the stupid Walkers all the time." The thought comforted Clementine.

A gunshot interrupted Clementine's train of thought, she flinched and buried herself in Lee's chest. "It's alright Sweet Pea, Duck's not in pain anymore. He's going to a better place." Lee rubbed her back in an effort to comfort the young girl.

"I wish Duck didn't have to die, he was a good friend. Even if he was weird." Clementine cried into Lee's chest, her tears soaking the front of his shirt.

Kenny and Katjaa walked out of the woods, the two were leaning on each other, both suffering from unimaginable grief.

As the two walked over, Lee picked Clementine up and walked over to the RV.  
"Lee, where are you going?" Carley asked, concerned.

"I'm leaving and I'm taking Clementine with me, you're welcome to come along." Lee opened the door of the RV and put Clementine inside.

"Why are you going? We need to stay with the group!" Carley sighed and put her hands against her head.

"No, I realised something. Our best chance of staying alive is by staying small, our group was big and look where that got us. Food doesn't last in a big group, not to mention there's more people that can fuck it up for you." Lee looked over to the group, knowing that this was probably the last time he'd see them.

"Lee, wait, I'm coming with you. Whatever we have between us I don't want it to end. If that means leaving the group, so be it." Carley ran over to the RV and hugged Lee.

"Wanna sit with me up front?" Lee asked, he lifted her up and squeezed her. For a second, everything seemed normal, as if there were no walkers to worry about.

"Sure, I'd like that." Carley kissed Lee on the cheek and walked past him into the RV.

Kenny walked over to him, still upset. "Lee, I wish you, Carley and Clem the best. Don't let what happened to Duck, happen to Clementine."

"I promise, man. I hope you and Katjaa make peace with what happened." Lee put his hand out for Kenny, Kenny looked into Lee's eyes and shook his hand.

"Thanks Lee, I appreciate it." Kenny walked back over to the train and led the remaining group inside.

Lee, walked into the RV and saw Clementine sitting next to Carley on the couch. "Lee, why aren't we going with them?" Clem looked up at Lee, curious as to what his intentions were.

"Because I realised that small groups are safer than big ones. Remember the Motor Inn? How everyone turned on each other when there was no food? Kenny and Lilly were always shouting at each other, someone was stealing our stuff, the Motor Inn just made us a target. We're safest on the move. Are you alright with that, Sweet Pea." Lee bent down to Clementine's level and put his arms around her.

"Yeah, I guess so. I was just excited to go on the train." Clem sighed and leaned back in her seat.

"Yeah, but the RV's nice, right?" Lee smiled and stood back up, looking over to Carley.

"I'm just hoping we find a gas station and find some chips, I'm hungry." Carley looked over to the cupboard. "Kenny and his family slept in here for a while, maybe they had some food." Carley walked over to the cupboard and rifled through it. "Nothing. Lee, do you want to drive?" Lee nodded and walked to the front of the RV.

As soon as he sat down, he heard the train begin to start. "No going back now, I guess." Lee started the RV and looked forward, seeing his group leave without him.


	5. Chapter 5

As the train passed, Lee looked back at Carley and Clementine. They got along well and it made Lee happy to see his partner and his foster child get along. "You guys want to go anywhere in particular?" Lee asked, hoping for some suggestions.

"The countryside, I doubt that there are many Walkers there. Avoid cities at all cost, Macon was a death trap." Carley said, confident in her plan.

"Yeah, we could live on a farm!" Clementine exclaimed, excited at the prospect.

'Countryside it is." Lee put on his seat belt and drove forward, thinking about his future.

Clementine looked over to Carley, curious. "Hey Carley, you're good at shooting, could you please teach me how to use a gun? I don't want to get bitten if I get lost or you and Lee are busy." Clementine looked up at Carley, her puppy dog eyes at work.

"What? You're a kid, kids shouldn't have to shoot guns." Carley looked back at Clementine, scared she'd hurt the little girl's feelings.

"But you have to, Carley, remember when I was in the pharmacy and Lee tripped and didn't reach me in time? I nearly got bitten and the only reason I wasn't is because you shot the Walker." Clementine was adamant about being taught how to use a gun.

"Clem, I know you're scared, but you're a kid. What if you forget the safety is off and you accidentally blow my head off? I've reported on stories like that before." Carley was nervous, she knew Clementine was right but she hated the idea that kids were having to defend themselves against the Walkers.

"No, I won't, if you teach me how to use a gun safely, it'll be okay. I promise I will be super good with it and I promise not to be stupid with it, I'll only shoot Walkers and bad people, like the St. Johns. Please Carley?" Clementine clasped her hands together, desperate for Carley to say yes.

"Fine, next place we stop, I'll set up some cans and I'll teach you how to shoot a gun properly." Carley groaned and pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose, what had she gotten herself into?

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you, I promise I'll be good." Clementine clapped her hands together and danced in her seat. "So, do you want to play a game to pass the time?" Clementine asked, hoping that Carley would agree.

"Sure thing, Clem. What game is it?" Carley was hoping for something simple, she hadn't eaten for a while and it was beginning to affect her.

"They didn't have food in the RV, but they did have Checkers! I found them in a cupboard, isn't that awesome?" Clementine took her backpack off her back and unzipped it, revealing a foldable checkerboard and a small plastic bag containing the checkers.

"That's great, Clem. Let's play it on the table, I don't think that the couch is the best spot for a game." Carley smiled at Clementine and took the board in her right hand and the checkers in her left, Clementine ran ahead of her and sat on the right side of the table, excited.

Carley sat down opposite of Clementine and laid out the pieces on the board, arranging each individual piece neatly in anticipation of their game. "Red or Black, Clem?" Carley asked as Clementine grew somewhat impatient.

"I choose red!" Clementine exclaimed as Carley finished.

"You go first, Clem. Don't worry." Carley said as Clementine moved a piece forward.

"Have you ever played Checkers before, Clementine?" Carley wondered as she slid a piece across the board.

"I used to play with my dad, he liked Checkers, mom was never very good at board games so she'd just watch us." Clementine reminisced for a second as she moved another piece, trying to keep focus on the game.

Carley smiled and moved another piece, she'd caught on to what Clementine was trying to do and she wanted to let her win, she was only eight after all. "What's with the hat?" Carley asked, wondering why it was always on the little girl's head.

"My dad gave it to me, before my parents went on holiday I said I was nervous about them leaving without me. He gave me his hat and said that I could have it while he was gone." Clementine looked down at the board, furrowing her eyebrows, trying to figure out her next move.

"Oh, sorry if I upset you, Clem." Carley felt somewhat guilty for asking the question, it was a sensitive subject for Clementine and Carley had inadvertently reopened the wound.

"No, it's okay. I just hope that they're okay, wherever they are." Clementine said as she took Carley's checker from the board.

Carley became more uncomfortable after she heard that, Lee had told her what he'd heard on the answering machine. Clementine's parents had perished in Savannah.

"I hope my parents are alright, too. I'm worried about them." Carley said as she moved another checker forward.

"What are your parents like? Are they nice?" Clementine wondered as she took yet another checker from Carley.

"My parents are amazing, my mom and dad never had much money and everything they did, they did for me. They paid for my college so that I didn't end up with massive debt." Carley smiled and moved another checker, trying to make it look like she wanted to win.

"That was super nice of your parents, do you think you'll ever be a mom?" Clementine said as she robbed Carley yet again of her checkers.

"Maybe I will, I'd like a little girl someday. Like you." Carley hadn't given the idea of having children much thought in the past and now that Walkers were roaming around and killing people, the idea seemed more and more like a fantasy to her.

"Lee said that too, we were at the St. John's and their Cow was having a baby." Clementine looked down at the board, Carley had only three pieces left.

"He did?" Carley was surprised to hear that, she didn't think Lee wanted kids.

"Yeah, I promise. You're terrible at Checkers, Carley." Clementine giggled as she robbed Carley of her remaining pieces and started tidying up.

"Hey Clem, could you please wait back here for me?" Carley said as she walked into the front of the RV.

"Sure thing, Carley." Clementine waved and sat herself down on the couch.

"Hey Lee, I need to talk to you." Carley sat herself down onto the passenger seat and buckled herself in.

"What's wrong, Carley?" Lee was trying his best to let her know he was listening, but he still needed to pay attention to the road.

"I need to know what's between us, what do we call this? Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?" Carley was nervous about Lee's answer, she didn't know exactly how he felt about her.

"I don't know, boyfriend and girlfriend, I guess. But that sounds so high school, y'know?" Lee chuckled as he gave his answer, he cared deeply for Carley. He loved her, but he'd spent so long focused on Clementine's wellbeing that he hadn't had a chance to act on those feelings until now.

"Maybe we don't have to define it, we know what's between us and the only person we need to tell is Clementine. I love you, Lee. You're one of the few people who still want to help others these days." Carley smiled and looked at Lee.

"I feel the same way, Carley. I love you, too. I think you're beautiful and smart and you want to do good by others. I like being around you and I want to be around you as much as I can." Lee looked at Carley and smiled briefly before looking back at the road.

"Lee look! There's a gas station up ahead, pull over!" Carley pointed over to it so that Lee didn't miss it.

"Thank god, I'm starving, maybe they have something to eat." Lee pulled up to the gas station and stopped the RV.

"I'm going to get Clementine out, I promised to teach her to shoot." Carley walked out of the RV to let Clementine out, worried about the impact on Clementine's pysche that killing people would cause.


	6. Chapter 6

Carley opened the door to a somewhat confused Clementine. "Why did we stop, Carley?" Clementine looked concerned.

"We found a gas station, we're looking for food. You can help us if you want, after that I'll teach you how to shoot." Carley smiled and held her hand out for Clementine, she reached back and climbed out.

Lee walked up to the two, a look of worry on his face. "We have a problem." Lee crossed his arms and shook his head.

"What's wrong, Lee?" Carley said as she closed the door to the RV.

"There's barely any gas left, we were running on fumes. I just hope I'm able to get some gas." Lee looked over to the gas station, hoping no scavenger had cleaned out the rest stop before they got there.

"Well, we can walk if we can't find any." Carley tried her best to be positive about their situation.

"We'll have to if we can't. I just hope it doesn't come to that." Lee bent down to Clementine's level and put his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright, Sweet Pea. Just stay calm and stick by either me or Carley." Clementine looked at Lee and nodded her head.

"Me and Carley could look in the Diner, it has to have something in there to eat." She looked at Lee, hoping he'd approve of her plan.

"Yeah, good idea, Clem. Just remember what I said." Lee stood back up and walked over the gas station.

Clementine squeezed Carley's hand and led her into the dark, dusty Diner. "Red's diner, sounds classy." Carley said as she was dragged inside.

"It smells gross in here." Clementine pinched her nostrils together as she walked around.

"Clementine, don't go anywhere without me." Carley ran up to the over-enthusiastic eight year old.

"Oh, sorry." Clementine looked up at Carley and then over the counter. "Carley, look, there's the kitchen."

Carley tilted her head and saw the kitchen, the door was sun bleached and there were claw marks on it. "Looks like Walkers have been in here." Carley waved her hand in front of her face, the room was hot and full of stale, stinky air.

Carley led Clementine behind the counter and held her back as she peeked into the kitchen. Dried blood was all over the floor, but nobody was inside. "Stay back, Clem." Carley whispered as she took her gun out from her coat pocket and burst through the door.

As she moved through the kitchen, she could see no sign of any Walkers inside. However, the stench still persisted and it was obvious something had died in the diner. "CARLEY, HELP!" Clementine screamed as she was grabbed by the hair and pulled backwards.

Carley burst through the kitchen doors, her gun drawn, adrenaline pumping through her veins she raised her gun and her eyes met with a man. His light green eyes were sunken in and full of rage, his brown hair was short and greasy. His brown leather jacket was covered in a thick layer of a filth.

Before he could react to anything, Carley shot him in the head, killing him instantly. "Oh my God, Clementine, are you okay? Did he hurt you? Do you know who he is?" Carley was frantic, she held the young girl close to her as she checked her for any wounds.

"No, you were too quick for him to do anything." Clementine said through shaky breaths and tears in her eyes.

Carley hugged her and rocked her from side to side, trying her best to comfort her. "It's alright, you're okay, you're okay, it's fine, you're safe now." The thought of nearly losing Clementine to some pyschopath terrified Carley immensely.

The two had become close over the past few months and knowing she could have been hurt triggered something in Carley.

After a few minutes, Clementine stopped crying and broke away from Carley's embrace. "We should keep looking for things. We still need food." Clementine tried her best to put on a brave face.

"Sure thing, Clem, the kitchen's safe. I promise." Clementine nodded and walked past her into the kitchen.

Carley knelt down on one knee and rifled through the stranger's coat pockets, she pulled out a hand radio, similar to Clementine's and some nine-milimeter bullets. She pocketed them both and stood up.

When she looked down, she felt an uncontrollable feeling of disgust and rage and spat on the mans face. She quickly turned around and walked back into the kitchen, she saw Clementine rifling through the pantry.

"Carley, there are some cans in here, come over here!" Clementine held two cans of beans, one in each hand.

"Great job, Clem. We'll be able to live off these for weeks!" Carley looked at the pantry in awe, it was fully stocked. Nobody had touched it since the Walkers first rose. Carley began stuffing her pockets with cans of peaches n' beans and carried as many as she could in her arms.

The two walked over to the RV and began stocking the cupboards and managed to empty the pantry in four loads. As Carley finished stocking the RV cupboards, she looked over at Clementine.

"We need to talk about earlier." Clementine was noticeably unsettled by the statement.

"Why?" Carley looked back at Clementine, she was scared that she was in trouble.

"We need to do something about your hair, it keeps getting grabbed by Walkers and creeps." Clementine nodded her head in agreement.

"Are you going to cut it?" Clementine said, hoping that she wouldn't look like a boy.

"Yeah, I found some scissors in the pantry. Don't worry, I promise I'll cut it nicely. You'll still look cute." Carley did her best to reassure Clementine, but it did little to help.

"Do you even know how to cut hair?" Clementine asked, worried about Carley's answer.

"Actually, I do. I used to cut my own hair in College, I looked really good, although I did once give myself terribly short bangs. My forehead looked massive for weeks." Clementine laughed at the thought.

"Alright, I trust you. Just don't make me look like a boy." Clementine took her hat off and turned around on the couch.

Carley sat down behind Clementine and pulled the scissors out of her left coat pocket, they were still very sharp, considering were they were.

As she began cutting Clementine's hair, Carley tried to take Clementine's mind off of the situation. "So, what was school like?"

Clementine was surprised to hear her ask that. "Why do you want to know about that?" Clementine said as she fiddled with her hat in her hands.

"Well, we're going to be spending a lot of time together in the future and I want to get to know you." Carley brushed Clementine's hair from her lap.

"Okay, then, I liked to play tag at recess and me and my friends would like to play this game where we'd try and get the boys to believe the dumbest thing. I remember this one time, my friend Stacey got a boy to believe it was a crime to hurt a Cat's feelings." Clementine sighed and tried to feel the back of her head before having her hand smacked away by Carley.

"Clem, I'm not done yet. What did you like to do after school?" Clementine grunted in annoyance.

"I liked to watch TV and me and my mom would play in the pool. She loved to swim, my dad hated it, he didn't like the chlorine in the pool." Carley ran her fingers through Clementine's hair, checking for unevenness.

"All done, you got anything to tie it up with, Clem?" Carley asked as she smiled at her work.

Clementine felt the back of her hands and moaned. "It's too short." Carley patted Clementine's back.

"No, it's cute. Besides, Walkers can't grab it. You don't want to be bitten now, do you?" Clementine nodded and sighed as she looked over to her backpack.

"There are some hair ties in my backpack." Carley walked over to Clementine's backpack and opened it, inside were some crayons, a notepad, a picture of Lee and some drawings. She searched through the pack, making sure not to damage anything and after a few seconds she found two purple hair ties.

As she walked back to Clementine, she couldn't notice how Clementine kept feeling the back of her hair. "Clementine it looks lovely, don't be upset." Carley sat down and comforted the young girl, she knew how important hair was to a little girl and she hated upsetting Clementine.

"I know, can you please tie it up now?" Clementine was beginning to get impatient, Carley understood and began tying it up in a low ponytail.

"There, it looks lovely, go look in the rear view mirror." Clementine ran into the front of the RV and sat down on the driver's seat.

As Clementine examined her new haircut, Carley began to get more and more nervous. "I like it, sorry if I upset you." Carley sighed a huge sigh of relief, she didn't want to end up on the wrong side of Clementine, especially considering the two would be travelling together for a while.

"That's okay, Clem, I understand." Carley walked back and put the scissors in a drawer. Carley took the spare hair tie and plaited her hair. "Are you going to be alright, Clementine? I know what happened earlier was scary." Carley finished the plait and secured it with the spare hair tie.

"Can you please teach me how to shoot now?" Clementine was still somewhat shaken, but was determined to not get hurt again.

After a minute of internal deliberation, Carley knew that this was the only way to keep Clementine safe all the time. "Alright, get out of the RV. I'll set up something." As the two got out of the RV, Carley noticed a case of glass bottles by a recycling bin and was immediately drawn to them. She picked up the case and began arranging them on top of a brick wall.

"Clem, get over here." Carley drew her gun and positioned Clementine in front of her and passed her the gun.

Clementine felt the gun in her hand, it was heavier than expected and it was difficult to bring up in front of her.

Carley immediately grabbed Clementine's arms and pushed her elbows down. "Don't lock your elbows, otherwise the recoil will hurt real bad." Clementine acknowledged this and kept her arms bent.

"You're going to want to keep the target in between the sights, see?" Clementine nodded and aimed the pistol at the first green bottle.

"Squeeze the trigger with your index finger, don't forget to breathe. Just stay calm when you're aiming, otherwise you make mistakes." Clementine aimed up her shot and squeezed the trigger.

The bottle burst into a thousand pieces, Clementine dropped the gun. "Ow, my hands hurt. Carley, it stings." Clementine was hissing at the pain.

"Sorry Clem, but you hit the bottle on your first try. Eventually you'll get used to the recoil, but you did fantastic." Carley patted Clementine's back and passed her the gun. "Again."

Clementine aimed her gun at the second bottle and squeezed the trigger, bang! The gun exploded and the second bottle shattered into bits. "Clem, you're a natural! Fantastic job!" Carley high-fived Clementine and took the gun from her.

"I think you understand the gist of it, I need to preserve the bullets. But, if we find another gun, that's yours." Clementine smiled at the thought.

"Okay, at least I know how to use a gun now." Clementine began walking to the RV. "I'm going to wait inside, it's hot out here." Carley nodded.

"Shout if you need us." Carley began walking over to Lee, hoping he'd understand what she'd done.

"Hey Carley, how's Clementine doing? Hope she hasn't been too much of a handful for ya." Lee chuckled.

"She's alright, but I need to tell you something that happened. Don't be mad, because she's okay now, but I figured you should know." Carley was trying as best she could to make sure that Lee didn't get angry with her.

"Carley, what happened?" Lee was extremely concerned about what Carley was going to say.

"Promise you won't get mad at me?" Carley said, still trying to get Lee to not be mad at her.

"I promise, now tell me what happened." Carley breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, we were in the diner and while I was scoping out the kitchen, some guy grabbed her by her hair and tried to kidnap her. Don't worry, because I shot him like, two seconds after Clementine screamed for help. After that, I cut her hair and taught her how to shoot a gun." Carley was nervous about Lee's reaction to her. She loved him and didn't want him to be mad at her.

"I'm not mad, I'm actually kinda glad you did that. I mean, I'm not happy some asshole hurt Clem, but if she's stronger and safer because of the experience, good. Thanks for looking out for my girl, Carley." Lee leaned over and kissed Carley on the forehead.

"Good thing you're not mad at me, I love you, Lee. You're one of the good ones." Carley stood on her tip toes and kissed Lee back.

"God, you are small." Lee laughed and turned around, his shoulders slumped slightly.

"What's wrong, Lee?" Carley was concerned for her boyfriend, he was just fine a minute ago, what could be wrong?

"There's no gas left, we're stranded in this fucking place. We're going to have to walk." Carley's eyes widened.

"No, the RV's full of food. Why not stay here for a bit? Park the RV close to the diner and let's hole up in there. C'mon, it could be fun." Carley tried her best to convince Lee to stay.

"Alright, makes sense. Maybe I was wrong about being on the move anyway, we should try to find a settlement. The Motor Inn was pretty good, but was too easy to attack. We need somewhere better, with tall walls and their own source of food. I don't know how this works, we just got thrown into this shit. We could find somewhere for Clementine to still be a kid and for you and me to be together, like a family." Carley hugged Lee tightly and looked him in the eye.

"I think that's a great idea. Go park the RV, I'll move the bastards corpse out back." Carley walked back into the diner, it stunk, hopefully there were some cleaning supplies inside the diner.

As she walked behind the counter, she saw the evil bastards corpse, he still looked so menacing, even though he was dead. She grabbed him by the legs and started dragging him backwards into the kitchen.

When she got into the kitchen, she dropped his legs. "Why are you so heavy? Weren't you starving like everyone else?" Carley needed a second to catch her breath, as she looked around, she saw the fire exit on the wall to the left of her.

"At least I don't have to drag you for long." Carley grabbed his legs again and kept dragging him, when she got outside, she heard the RV pull up to the front door.

Determined not to let Clementine see him again, she pulled the corpse up to her chest and pushed him into an empty trash bin. "Finally, I don't have to look at you again." Carley pushed the lid down on his corpse and weighed it down with some bricks next to the bin.

As she walked in to the diner, something caught her eye, on the far wall, there was a small hallway she'd missed.

As Carley walked down it, she saw a small utility closet next to the bathrooms. "Great, we can clean away the stench." As the door opened, Carley turned around to see Lee and Clementine's faces smiling at her. Everything seemed like it was going to work out.


	7. Chapter 7

"Is he gone now? I never want to see his ugly face again." Clementine said, rage audible in her tiny voice.

Carley nodded and looked at Lee. "There's a utility closet back by the bathrooms, could you please mop up the kitchen if we're going to be staying here for a while." Carley knelt down and looked at Clementine. "Hey, there's probably a feather duster in the utility closet, wanna dust the tables?"

Clementine looked at Carley with a smirk on her face. "Sure, but I might tickle you." Clementine ran past Carley and opened the utility room, grabbing the bright multicoloured feather duster. "I'm queen of cleaning! I declare this diner my kingdom and you as my subjects!" Carley chuckled to herself and opened up all the windows and doors to let in fresh air.

Carley sat down in a booth, exhausted from earlier. She knew it might look selfish, but she was tired and wanted to rest her legs.

Seeing Clementine run around and play with the feather duster warmed Carley's heart, she was so resilient for someone so young. For Clementine to see everything she'd seen and still want to play, it gave Carley hope for the future.

Maybe it would work out with Lee and they'd have a child, maybe that child would grow up well despite everything around it. But she was getting ahead of herself, there was still work to be done and she needed to ensure their safety.

She got up and walked outside into the RV, Carley opened the pantry and grabbed a family sized can of peaches n' beans, a bag of brown rice and some water bottles. Thankfully the gas oven was still working and Carley set about making dinner for the three of them.

They had been through so much today that a cold can of peaches n' beans wasn't enough. As both the rice and the beans cooked, Carley began to get excited for their reaction. None of them had eaten anything even resembling a hot meal for months.

Finally, everything had cooked and Carley put everything on the plates. She leaned out of the RV door and yelled. "You guys, get in here, I have a surprise for you." After ten seconds Clementine was pulling Lee out of the diner.

"Come on, Lee. Let's see the surprise, stop being slow!" Clementine was trying her best to pull him, but he was still to slow for her.

"Okay, Sweet Pea, hold your horses." Lee sniffed the air and stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Carley. "Are you serious? Hot food? How did you manage?!" Lee sprinted up to her and kissed her.

"I knew you'd be happy, I'm glad we can share this together." Clementine ran past the two of them and sat down at the table, staring at her plate, licking her lips in anticipation.

"I can't wait to eat, sit down, please?" Clementine was begging them to get over to the table.

Carley sat herself down while Lee opened the drawers to pass out forks. "C'mon Lee, I want to eat now. I can't if you don't sit down, that's rude." Lee smiled at that and sat down next to Clementine, opposite Carley.

"Yay, I'm so hungry. Thank you, Carley!" Clementine immediately began digging into her meal with her fork, with no regard for any mess she'd make.

"Sure thing, Clem." Carley smiled and began eating.

"Thanks Carley, we appreciate this." Lee said in between bites of his food.

"You're welcome, you guys, I thought that we deserved it after everything that happened to us over the past few months." Carley took another bite and looked at her group.

They were so happy and it warmed her heart immensely, when every day was a battle for survival, the little things in life started to matter more and more. Things that Carley had taken for granted before, such as hot meals and bathing had becomes special privileges and she was more and more greatful for them everyday.

"All done." Clementine's plate was empty, not a single grain of rice or one bean had been left on the plate, it was obvious that she had been really hungry.

"You really enjoyed that, huh?" Carley put her fork down, having finished her meal.

"Mmmhhm, thanks." Clementine looked over to Lee as he finished his meal. "Did you like it, Lee?"

"I sure did, Sweet Pea, Carley's a good cook." Lee picked up all the cutlery and put them into the sink for later.

"How long do you think we're staying, Lee?" Carley asked, wondering what his plans were.

"Until we run out of food, or Walkers overwhelm us. Which reminds me, we should start barricading the diner." Lee looked happy, he'd eaten and he was around people that he loved.

Carley got up from her seat and buttoned up her coat. "I'm going to walk around the diner, secure the perimeter. Take care, you two." Carley waved and stepped out of the RV, closing the door behind her.

With her gun in her hand, Carley walked into the diner, the air was much fresher and the smell of cleaning products only made her day better. After being exposed to rotting corpses all the time, it was nice to finally smell something clean.

She walked into the mens bathroom, it was completely untouched. Gross, but untouched. She checked the women's bathroom, there was nothing inside there.  
As she walked out to check the kitchen, she saw something terrifying.

A group of people were walking toward the diner, they outnumbered them and could be violent. Carley dived underneath a booth and reloaded her pistol. She was prepared to kill to protect her people.

Carley crawled out of the diner and ran up to them, her gun pointed at the group. "Leave now or I shoot." Carley tried her best to intimidate them into leaving without bloodshed.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, we don't want no trouble, we just want somewhere to live, like everyone else. My name is Roman, this is my group." He pointed to three other people. "That's Stephanie, that's Shel and the youngest one's Becca. We're good people, we aren't trying to fight."

Carley examined the four of them, all of them had their arms in the air and looked exhausted from walking. "My name is Carley, my boyfriend is in the trailer, alongside a little girl we're looking after." Carley lowered her gun, but still kept it in her hand.

"Please, I'm begging you, let us in, we'll die out here. We have nowhere else to go." Shel had tears in her eyes, she was drenched in sweat and she looked as if she hadn't slept in days. "I have to look after my sister, she's all I have left. You have to understand." Carley looked at Becca, she was so thin and looked so tired.

"Why should I let you in, Roman? Are you going to help us or are you going to stab us in the back?" Carley looked at Roman, her eyes met his, just like the others he was fatigued from walking nonstop with no rest.

"We're good people, we ain't like that. You got to believe us, we're not bandits. We don't kill." Carley put her gun in her pocket.

"Fine, I'm convinced, but one fuck up and you're done here. I'll introduce you to my group." Carley led them and the RV and opened the door.

"The RV's tank is empty, so I wouldn't bother trying to steal it." Carley said as they piled inside.

"Carley, who are these people?" Lee gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"This is Roman, Stephanie, Shel and Becca. They have nowhere else to go and we have to do the right thing or we're no better than the Walkers." Clementine looked at Becca, excited to have someone close to her age around.

"I know, Carley, it's just that we don't know them and there's only so much food." Lee knew she was right, but it still bothered him.

"We have food! We can pile up our stuff together." Roman removed the duffle bag from his bag and unzipped it.

He picked out boxes of crackers, cookies, cereal, energy bars, water bottles and a chocolate bar. "Can I please have the chocolate bar, Roman? That's my favourite." Roman nodded and tossed it to Clementine who caught it and ripped it open in seconds, savouring every bite.

Lee relented, they had shown themselves to be good people and he had no choice but to let them stay, it was getting dark and no one should have to be outside at night with Walkers about.

"Fine, stay, but don't make me regret this." Lee turned around and looked at Clementine. "Also, we're sleeping in the RV, you can sleep in the diner."

"Sure thing, maybe we could barricade the diner tommorow? We could be here a while." Shel was trying her best to be diplomatic and show that her group were good people.

"Good idea, Shel. See you in the morning." With that, Roman, Stephanie, Shel and Becca walked out of the RV and into the diner.

"We should probably lock the door, y'know, just in case." Carley walked over to the door and locked it.

"I'm tired, Lee. Can you turn off the light, please?" Clementine looked up at Lee, her eyelids drooping.

"Sure thing, Clem. Carley, help me pull out the bed, will you?" Carley nodded and stood across from Lee, her hands on one side of the couch.

"One, two, three." The two pulled out the bed and started putting on the covers.

Without being told, Clementine began shutting the windows and closing the blinds.

"There, ready for bed, everyone? Anybody need the bathroom?" Lee said, hoping nobody had to so they could all sleep.

"Nah, I don't need to." Carley said as she flopped herself on the bed.

"Nope." Clementine jumped on the bed and lied next to Carley.

"Good" Lee flipped the light switch and layed himself down next to Clementine, desperate for rest. "Night."

Lee closed his eyes and went to sleep, knowing that him and his family were safe.


	8. Chapter 8

When Lee woke up, he felt re-energised, thankfully he didn't dream very often and so he didn't have to deal with nightmares as often as he should have, given the things he'd experienced. He rolled out of bed, making sure to let Carley and Clementine get some more rest. He opened the blinds and saw that the sun had just risen, the sky was a beautiful light blue and there were no herds in sight.

"Lee, what are you doing? Is it time to get up?" Clementine rubbed her eyes and yawned, seeing the sun she immediately got up off the bed.

"Hi, you two, how are you?" Carley stretched her arms out and got out of bed.

'I'm okay, Carley, yourself?" Lee leaned against the table, still half asleep.

"I slept fine, I wonder how the others are doing." Carley began folding the bed back up into the wall.

"They're probably fine, I doubt that they managed to survive this long by being stupid. They can take care of themselves." Lee walked over to the cabinet and looked inside for some food.

"Pfft, tell that to Ben." Carley walked over to Clementine and rubbed her back. "You alright, Clem, what do you want for breakfast?" Clementine looked back at Carley and thought for a second.

"What do we have?" Clementine asked, as she took her hat off to fix her hair.

"We have some cereal, no milk though, so you don't have to use a spoon." Carley looked at Clementine who was still groggy from sleep.

"I'll have some cereal, then. Are we doing anything today?" Carley shook her head.

"You're not, we're making a barricade around the diner, but I don't think you'd be interested in that. Why not make some drawings for us to see at the end of the day? We could do some target practice later, if you want." Lee walked over and put a bowl of dry cereal on the table.

"Sorry there's no milk, Clem." Lee kissed Carley on the cheek and unlocked the RV door.

"That's okay, Lee. I'd love to do some target practice later, Carley. That would be so cool." Clementine grabbed her backpack and took out her notepad.

"We'll be outside if you need us, okay?" Carley began walking out of the RV.

"Okey dokey." Clementine waved and looked back down at her notepad.

As Lee walked into the diner, he could see that the new group really were on the brink last night. They looked awful and they were out cold on the diner floor.

"Alright everyone, wake up, we have a lot to do today if we're going to make this a viable place to live." Lee clapped his hands loudly as the group got up off the floor.

"Do we get breakfast first?" Becca yawned as she got up off the floor.

"Yeah, there's cereal out in the RV. First come, first serve, one bowl each." Shel got up off the floor, out of the four of them, she looked like she was struggling the most.

"Are you alright, Shel? Need a minute?" Carley said as she passed her a bottle of water.

"I'm fine, I've just been so worried about Becca, it's been weighing on me.' Shel took a swig of her water and wiped her mouth.

"You're a good sister to her, that's admirable. How long have you two been with Roman and Stephanie?" Shel took another sip and breathed out.

"We've been with them since the beginning of the outbreak, Roman's an alright guy, but he gets stressed and Stephanie's kind of an idiot, but she's young and young people do stupid things. How about you?" Carley took her hair down and put the hair tie in her pocket, she looked a mess but at least she was alive.

"I've been with Lee and Clementine since the outbreak started, we used to be part of a bigger group. But, we broke off and we just ended up here. Lee's a great man, he's saved my life and he takes such great care of Clementine." Shel looked out of the window and into the RV.

"Is she his daughter?" Carley shook her head.

"No, her real parents died, we're just taking care of her." Shel smiled.

"She's one lucky girl, then. I can't imagine what'd happen to Becca if I died or turned into one of those disgusting things." Shel walked past Carley and into the RV.

Lee walked over to Carley. "That was fucking depressing."

"Tell me about it, I knew that people were suffering, but I never realised how bad it was. In comparison to these new people, we've had it pretty good. I mean it was shitty, but not as shitty as them." Carley looked at the RV, worried for Clementine.

"So, do you know what we're doing after breakfast?" Lee wondered as he looked at the floor.

"I think we're going to make the barricade, then organise some kind of long term daily schedule." Lee smiled at that.

"Sounds like a fantastic idea. You guys alright?" Lee said as he watched Shel, Roman and Stephanie get out of the RV.

"Okay everyone, we've had our breakfast and now it's time to get to work. We're going to make a barricade around the diner. Has anyone got any ideas that could help?" Carley asked as she looked around for any Walkers.

"I have one." Roman raised his hand, desperate to prove himself.

"Let's hear it." Carley said, curious as to what his plan was.

"I know how to hotwire vehicles. There's trucks and buses and shit littered all over the highway. I say we use them as the barricade." Roman smiled at his plan.

"How do we know they have fuel, Roman?" Carley doubted his plan would work.

"Look at the way they're on the highway, these babies were abandoned during a traffic jam. Chances are they still have fuel in 'em." Everybody was taken aback by this, Roman was right. All of the cars were queued up on the road, many of the doors were still open.

"We're going with Roman's plan, any objections or questions?" Shel raised her hand.

"What's wrong, Shel?" Carley said, wondering what the problem was.

"We need to make some kind of gate in the barricade, otherwise how else are we going to get in or out?" Lee had an idea.

"We don't need a gate, we could just pull up people we want inside. There's enough us so that if someone goes out scavenging and wants back in, we could just lift them inside. That way we don't have to have to risk the wrong people getting in." Roman looked at him, puzzled by the idea.

"What if we need to get out of here quickly?" Carley nodded at the statement.

"We could build a ladder or something like stairs on this side of the barricade and just pull up people we're okay with having around." Roman smiled at that.

"That's actually a fantastic idea, Lee. I think we should go with that. Anyone else have anything to say?" Roman looked around, nobody had any objections.

"Alright, it seems we're going with Roman's plan. Shel, you look after Becca and Clementine, everybody else get over to that Prison bus." Carley walked over to the bus with the group behind her.

"Roman, you hotwire the bus, everybody else, I want you to guard the bus in case Walkers get attracted by the noise." As Roman walked inside the bus, Carley, Lee and Stephanie stood around the door of the bus, prepared to fend off any stray Walkers attracted by the noise.

"Damn, I didn't know that Roman knew how to hotwire cars." Stephanie was staring through the windshield of the prison bus.

"I'm just glad we can keep the diner safe. It's a nice place and we could probably get a garden or something going." Carley got on top of a station wagon and looked around. "Hey Lee, does this car look familiar to you?" Lee's eyes opened wide.

"Oh my god, that was the car from the country road. The one we robbed, same registration plate and everything. That guy you killed, that's his car. I didn't see it when we pulled up to the Diner." Carley felt sick when she realised that.

"You guys robbed someone? Dick move." Stephanie jumped on the bonnet of the bus and sat down.

"Fuck you, Stephanie, we were starving, we had no choice but to steal. It's everyone for themselves out here." Carley was aggravated by Stephanie's statement, she knew it was true but it still made her angry.

"Hey, don't get angry at me, you're the thieves." Carley was furious with her at this point.

"Shut up, bitch, don't you dare start with me, we didn't have to take you in last night and we can still kick your ass out." Stephanie rolled her eyes and turned away.

Lee helped Carley off of the station wagon and held her close to him. "I know you're upset right now, but she isn't worth getting upset over. We did a bad thing, so what? That's the past and we've surely redeemed ourselves by now." Carley hugged him tight.

"We could have gotten Clem killed because we robbed that dick, we're awful people. If we had just done the right thing, Clem wouldn't have nearly been kidnapped and have god knows what happen to her." Carley began to cry.

"I know, but you can't change that now, you saved Clementine and if we hadn't stolen that stuff, we would have starved to death." Lee was trying his best to comfort Carley, but she was consumed by guilt.

"I know you're right, but I feel like such an evil monster for what we did to him. I know that I can't change it, but I have to live with my selfish actions for the rest of my life. I'm never stealing again." Carley wiped the tears from her face and leaned against the bus.

"I understand how you feel, Carley. His blood is on both our hands and we have to live with that. But we have to be there for Clementine and I'm sure if we do enough good stuff for people, then we can feel less guilty about the whole thing." Carley nodded and walked over to Stephanie.

"I'm sorry, Stephanie. That was a bitch move back there and I'm sorry for what I said to you. Can you accept my apology?" Carley said, hoping that Stephanie would understand.

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't really my business to judge you. I ain't perfect, but thanks for saying you're sorry. That was real big of you and you're really small so you know it's a compliment." Carley chuckled at the joke and walked into the bus.

"How's it going, Roman?" Carley said, hoping for good news.

"Pretty good, I hope you and Stephanie don't butt heads again. Not really a fan of conflict myself, but that's just me." Carley felt even smaller after that, the whole thing was childish and if she was going to be a leader, she needed to be better.

"It won't happen again, Roman. Sorry." Roman cheered as he finally got the wires into place.

"Wanna do the honours, Carley?" Roman pointed to the driver's seat.

"Sure thing, Roman." Carley sat down and started the bus.

To her absolute amazement, the bus started and she could drive it with no issue.

"Get everyone in here, we're parking it at the Diner." Roman got out and led Stephanie and Lee inside of the bus.

"He actually got this old banger to work? I'm impressed." Stephanie closed the door behind her.

"I know, weird." Carley reversed the bus back into the front of the Diner.

"Do you even know how to drive a bus, Carley?" Lee was concerned about Carley's driving skills.

"No, but I think I'm getting the hang of it." Carley looked into the rear view mirror as she reversed near the diner, trying her best not to crash and make sure there were no gaps between the bus and the wall.

"Good job, Carley." Roman said as he walked out of the bus door.

"Thankfully we aren't dead and we'll only need a truck to bridge the gap, so well done." Lee looked over to the RV. "I hope this place is better for Clementine than the Motor Inn, when raiders would shoot arrows into the barricade she'd cry for hours, this shit is scary enough as an adult." Carley sighed and put her arms around Lee.

"I know, but we have to do our best for Clementine, she needs stability. This could be the start of something fantastic for all of us." Lee kissed Carley on the cheek and opened the door for her.

"Ladies first." Carley walked out of the bus and over to the RV.

As Carley walked into the RV, she saw that Clementine was hiding her notepad behind her back.

"Carley, you have to go, me, Becca and Shel are making a surprise, don't spoil it. Shoo." Clementine passed her notepad to Shel and ran over to Carley.

"Clem, I'm sorry, I was just checking on you." Clementine pushed Carley out of the RV with all her strength.

"That's fine, but we're making a surprise for everyone. Go finish the barricade and then we'll show you." With that, Clementine immediately shut the door and locked it behind her.

As Carley walked over to the rest of the group, a feeling of relief washed over Carley. Clementine was still a normal kid, despite everything that happened to her.


	9. Chapter 9

"So, how's Clementine doing?" Lee was worried about Clementine, ever since the beginning of the outbreak he hated leaving her, even if she was supervised.

"She pushed me out of the RV because she's making a surprise and doesn't want it spoiled, so I'd say she's doing great." Lee was relieved to hear that.

"At least she's doing kid stuff now, I hate that eventually we'll have to get her killing Walkers and scavenging. It ain't fair, she deserves a childhood." Carley knew he was right, even though everything was fine now, eventually she'd have to grow up before her time. Clementine was already getting desensitised to violence.

When the group reached the truck, Roman climbed inside to hotwire it and seemingly out of the blue a massive herd of Walkers surfaced on the horizon.

"ROMAN, GO QUICKLY! " Lee shouted into the truck as he got Carley and Stephanie inside of the truck.

"What's wrong, Lee?" Roman asked as he fiddled around with the wires.

"Walkers, there are hundreds of them coming this way, get the fucking truck started." Lee shut the door behind him and prayed that Roman got it started.

"Lee, just so you know, Clementine locked the RV door and the Walkers have no reason to be interested in the RV. So if we die, Shel can take care of her." Carley was terrified of the Walkers hurting Clementine, she was prepared to die for her.

"Good to know, but we ain't dying." Carley looked at Roman as he started the truck and reversed at full speed.

"Oh thank fuck." Stephanie was on the verge of a panic attack, she'd never seen so many Walkers in one place.

Roman reversed into the front of the prison bus and closed the gap, making sure that Walkers couldn't get through.

"Out, all of you, out!" Roman reached over and opened the door next to Lee.

Roman locked the car doors and jumped out after Stephanie.

"We need to close the gap under the truck, fast." Carley ran behind the diner, the group followed her.

"Push the bins, they're heavy and they're wide!" Carley and Lee pushed one bin and Roman and Stephanie pushed the second.

The bins were heavy, their metal exterior scraped against the concrete ground, every single push took everything they had.

Carley and Lee managed to get their bin next to the truck, sealing half the gap. They ran over to Stephanie and Roman to help them push. This one was heavier than the last and took longer, by the time they got it against the truck they could begin to hear the Walkers.

They were panting now, they were absolutely exhausted, but at least they were safe from the Walkers.

"Thank god we made the barricade, otherwise we'd be dead, ripped apart and eaten by those things." Carley looked at the Truck, it was just wide enough to bridge the gap. There was no way anyone could get through.

As they started to walk into the diner they heard the faint scream of a person. "Lee, did you hear that?" Carley looked over at the truck, was someone behind there?

"Yeah, I did. Get on top of the truck and find out." Carley climbed on top of the bin and pulled herself on to the top of the truck.

She was shaken to her core by who she saw running from the herd.


	10. Chapter 10

"Lilly?!" There was no mistaking that it was Lilly running from the herd. Her long brown hair was caked in mud and her clothes were covered in filth.

"Please, help me!" Lilly ran up to the truck and stuck her hand up, desperate to be rescued.

"How do I know you're not bitten?" Carley said as she looked at the herd, it was massive, miles long and miles wide, there were thousands of them.

"I promise I'm not, If I am you can toss me out, but please pull me up, I'm begging you!" Carley got on her stomach and stuck her hand down.

Lilly grabbed Carley's hand and climbed up on to the truck. "Thank you so much, I'm so sorry for what I did to you earlier, If I have to spend the rest of my life making it right I will." Lilly put her arms around Carley and began to cry.

"Were they all just chasing you?" Carley said as the herd reached the barricade.

"I don't think so, I just know that all the Walkers are going in a certain direction, look." Carley looked as the Walkers walked right past the barricade.

"That's really weird." Carley said as Lilly walked onto the edge of the truck and jumped onto the bins.

As Carley got back into the diner, Lee was staring at Lilly in complete shock.

"What are you doing here, Lilly? Gonna kill me? You'll need some bullets first." Lilly looked at the ground in shame.

"Lee, I'm the one who should be angry at her, she tried to kill me, not you. I've forgiven her and you should do the same, I couldn't let her get ripped apart by that herd." Carley put her arm around Lilly and pulled her close to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, alright. I was wrong and I regret doing what I did every day, please don't send me out there to die." Lee let out a sigh and sat in a booth.

"Fine, you can stay, I owe it to Larry to let you in." Lee remembered pulling Lilly back, he regretted doing that to Lilly every day. If he'd have just stood up to Kenny, maybe Lilly wouldn't have gone through all that unnecessary suffering.

"Thank you, Lee. I forgive you for what you did to him, at least he didn't have to suffer. I don't know how I'd get him his pills after the pharmacy ran out. Silver linings, I suppose. " Lilly wiped away her tears and sat down across from Lee.

"Lilly, I'm not trying to be cruel, but you look like shit." Lilly nodded and put her head on the table.

"I'll wash in a minute." Lilly was drained of all energy, she'd been running for miles.

"I'm going to check on Clem, you stay here in case something happens." Lee stood up and walked into the RV.

As he knocked on the door, Lee wondered how to tell Clementine that Lilly was back after what had happened.

Shel opened the door with a scared look on her face. "Lee, what the hell is that noise?!" Shel was scared of his answer.

"Walkers, there are thousands of them going along the highway, we just rescued someone from the herd." Shel's eyes widened and she went pale.

"Are we safe? Are they trying to get in?" Lee shook his head.

"No, that's the weirdest thing. They're not trying to get into the barricade. If they did, they would have gotten in by now. They're obviously drawn to something. I have no idea what it is, though." Shel sat down on the couch, shaking with fear.

"I need a minute, Lee. Clementine's got something to show everyone." Clementine waved and held her notepad up in the air.

"Lee, look what me, Shel and Becca did!" Lee took the notepad in his hand and was shocked.

It was a calendar, Clementine, Becca and Shel had managed to figure out what the date was. The twenty-ninth of August and the next day was circled as Clementine's birthday.

"It's your birthday tommorow, Sweet Pea? I'll try and throw something together for you." Clementine smiled and hugged Lee tightly.

"Thank you, Lee. What's wrong? You look upset." Lee sighed and got down on one knee.

"There's a herd outside, don't worry we're safe, but we had to rescue someone." Clementine looked at him in confusion.

"Who was it, Lee?" Lee knew there was no way to sugar-coat it so he blurted it out.

"It's Lilly, she was running from the Walkers. We had to save her or she would have died. We have to be good people or we're no better than the Walkers. Do you understand, Clementine?" Clementine nodded and sat on the table.

"Can you please tell her not to talk to me? I still don't like her." Lee shook his head.

"No, we have to be around each other, communication is the best thing for resolving conflict. She's not in charge, me and Carley are." Clementine groaned and looked away.

"Can I at least not talk to her until I know she's nicer than before?" Lee smiled at that.

"Sure thing, Clem, thank you so much for the Calendar, you three." Clementine and Becca smiled at that as Lee walked out of the RV.

"How are they?" Carley was sat on top of the counter, her short legs swinging back and forth between the seats.

"Great, Shel's freaking out about the herd, but the three of them made a calendar, it's the twenty-ninth of August and tomorrow is Clementine's ninth birthday. I don't know what we're going to do for her." Carley hopped off the counter and grabbed the sheet of paper.

"Oh my god, we know the date. That's amazing! It's nice knowing what the date is again, I'm glad we let them in. I know what we can get for Clementine's birthday. I found a pack of coloured chalk, completely new, never been used. She can have that." Lee took the pack from Carley's hand and pocketed it.

"Thank you, Carley. At least she'll have something for her birthday." Lee kissed Carley and sat down next to Roman.

"You two okay?" Stephanie didn't move from her spot and Roman sighed.

"She's done this before, when she's really scared she just shuts down. She can handle small groups of Walkers, but not herds like this. Please give the two of us some space." Lee mouthed the word sorry and walked away.

Lilly walked up to Lee, he could tell she wanted something.

"Lee, I need some water to wash. Please can you tell me where I the water bottles are?" Lee led her into the RV and opened the fridge.

"It doesn't work, but the shade keeps the water cool, at least it's not warm." Lee passed her a bottle and she walked outside.

"I'm going to wash out behind the diner, so don't go there." Lee nodded and walked back into the RV.

Lilly grabbed her muddy blue backpack and walked out of the kitchen. She began to strip her muddy clothes off and washed herself with a damp cloth. Taking her hairbrush out of her pack she brushed the mud out of her hair and it fell to the ground. Lilly took the remaining water and poured it into her hair.

She dressed herself in her change of clothes, a black long sleeve shirt with olive green cargo pants. It wasn't glamourous, but it was practical. Cleaning herself made her feel better about the situation. As Lilly walked back into the diner, she saw Clementine walking out of the RV.

Lilly felt so ashamed about what she did. "Clementine probably hates me, she'd be right to feel that way, I tried to kill an innocent woman just because she upset me." Lilly sat on the kitchen floor with her knees to her chest and began to sob quietly.

All of Lilly's grief, rage and exhaustion smacked her across the face. She'd been holding it together for so long and suddenly it hit her all at once like a freight train.

"Lilly?" It was Clementine, she peeked through the door and saw Lilly on the floor crying.

"You hate me, don't you?" Clementine sat on the floor across from her.

"No, I don't. You did a bad thing, so did Lee and I like him. Are you sad about Larry? I miss my mom and dad, too. I know how it feels to not have your parents." Lilly wiped her tears on her sleeve and looked at Clementine.

"You don't know how much it means for me to hear you say that? I get it if you're not happy with me for nearly killing Carley." Clementine scooched herself up next to Lilly and hugged her.

"It's alright to sit down and cry, I'll be here with you if you like." Lilly smiled and hugged Clementine back.

"You kept it." Clementine looked at her, confused about what she meant. "The hair ties, you kept them. Your hair is shorter too, who cut it?" Clementine looked at her, a proud expression on her face.

"Carley did, she knows how to cut hair, she did it all the time in College." Lilly smiled at that.

"Maybe Carley could cut mine, a Walker nearly grabbed my hair before I got here." Lilly grabbed her hair and held it in her hand. "Plus my ends are pretty dead, a new look would be nice." Clementine smiled and pulled her up off the floor.

"Let's go ask her, c'mon." Clementine dragged her through the kitchen doors, everybody in the diner was fine. Nobody was angry at Lilly, she felt welcomed and it made her feel the best she'd ever felt since the beginning of the outbreak.


	11. Chapter 11

Lilly sat down in the booth across from Carley. "Hi Carley, I know this is a big ask and I'm fine if you don't want to, but could you please cut my hair for me? It's too long and it nearly got me killed on the way here." Carley's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Of course, Lilly. How short do you want it?" Lilly contemplated for a moment, she wanted to make sure she didn't get grabbed. But she also wanted to look feminine, she knew that was vain and stupid, but she wanted to look nice.

"A bit below my ears, please." Carley grabbed Lilly's hand and led her over to a chair by the counter.

"I'll grab my scissors, you wait here." Carley ran into the RV and grabbed the pair for scissors. They were large, with black handles and sharp blades. She ran back over to Lilly and picked up Lilly's brush from her pack.

As she began brushing through Lilly's hair, the noise from the herd began to fade. While it was still loud, it wasn't nearly as loud as it was at first.

"You aren't going to make me look bad on purpose as revenege, are you?" Lilly was nervous about Carley's answer.

"Hell no, I have a reputation as the best hairdresser in the group, I can't let any grudges I may have affect my work." Clementine was laughing at the ridiculous overly-posh accent Carley had used during that sentence.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Lilly sighed as Carley began cutting her hair.

"Hush, don't be ridiculous. It'll be fine." Carley kept cutting until she had gotten rid of the majority of Lilly's hair. It was now the length of a bob and it hit the top of Lilly's neck. "I just have to even it out now and then I can get rid of the bluntness."

"It's uneven?!" Lilly was beginning to regret asking Carley for help.

"Just a bit, calm down. I'm evening it out now. There, it's perfect." Lilly touched the back of her head, checking the length.

"It's lovely, thank you, Carley." Clementine grabbed the calendar and handed it to Lilly.

"Look what we made!" Lilly held the calender up to her face and smiled.

"This is great, at least now I know the date. That's comforting." Lilly sighed and put her arms on the counter.

"Look, I know the world sucks right now and you're having a difficult time. But, things are going to get better. They won't be the same, but they'll be better than they are now." Carley tried her best to reassure Lilly, she was still grieving for her father and Carley wanted Lilly to be at her best.

"Thank you, Carley, I needed that. So what are we going to do now? The food stock isn't going to last forever."

"I haven't talked it over with the group, but my idea is that we send two people out to search for supplies each week. Like at the Motor Inn, but I want them on the lookout for seeds. We'll be able to make a garden or something and live off our own produce." Clementine looked up at Carley.

"Does this mean that I can have a job here? I could take care of the tomatoes, I had a tomato plant at home." Carley smiled at Clementine's idea.

"Sure thing, Clem, you're in charge of any future tomato plants we get." Clementine cheered at that and skipped over to Lee.

"So, Lilly, do you need anything to eat?" Lilly shook her head and layed her head on the counter.

"No, I'm gonna nap, thanks, Carley." Carley walked out of the Diner and climbed up on to the truck.

"What's going on?" The Walkers were completely ignoring her, they all seemed to have a location in mind and nothing could distract them from it.

After watching the herd for about a half hour, the herd eventually passed them. It was massive and wherever they were headed was doomed.

Lee walked up behind Carley, concerned for her wellbeing. "Hey Carley, why are you up here?"

"It's just, I can't wrap my head around it. Why did the herd pass us? Where are they going?" Carley sighed and laid on her back, facing the sky.

"Doesn't matter, we have to be thankful that they did and we have to make sure we stay alive." Lee looked on as a few stragglers walked past the barricade.

"But what's the point? Are we supposed to just go from place to place, hoping that maybe, just maybe the new place works out. Even though in the back of our minds we all know that it will eventually fall and we'll have to rebuild. I'm just so tired, Lee. I'm scared that I'm going to end up one of them." Carley pointed to a Walker dragging itself by its arms across the road.

"Look, I know you're scared, I'm fucking terrified that one day I'm going to have to bury Clem because she tripped running from a Walker or some asshole shot her and I couldn't save her. But, we have to be strong even when we don't want to be, for Clementine and for ourselves." Lee pulled Carley off the ground and helped her off of the truck.

Carley wrapped her arms around Lee and put her head on his shoulder. "I know, I'll try my best to be strong for her, we're all she has. I'm just so tired of running and fighting." Lee stroked her hair and pulled her closer.

"I know, but we have to believe it'll get better. Even if we can't see it happening." Carley kissed Lee and broke away from him.

"Okay Lee, I promise. I'll try harder to be positive about this." Lee smiled at her and walked over to Clementine.

"Hey, Sweet Pea, do you want to do some target practice?" Clementine's eyes lit up with excitement at the mention of target practice.

"Yeah, Lee! That'd be so cool." Lee gathered up various bits of trash for Clementine to shoot and put them on the trash cans.

"I know that Carley taught you the basics, I just figured it'd be good to go over them for later. So, Clem, show me how to aim a gun."

Clementine took a pistol in both hands and aimed it in front of her chest, her arms were bent, she kept her legs apart to stop the recoil from knocking her tiny frame down and she kept her finger on the trigger guard. Lee was massively impressed by her form and stood behind her as she aimed at an empty soda can.

Bang, the soda can went flying off the trash can. Clementine then took aim at an empty box of crackers.

Bang, the box of crackers fell backwards with a massive see-through hole in the centre.

"Wow, Clem, you're a natural, next thing I know, you'll be giving Annie Oakley a run for her money." Clementine turned around and slapped Lee's palm in celebration.

"So does this mean I'm ready to shoot Walkers? I know it's not the same as my targets, but I know how."

"Sure thing, Sweet Pea. Next time we find a gun, it's yours." Clementine passed Lee his gun back and headed into the RV.

Lee had never felt so proud of Clementine since he first met her.


	12. Chapter 12

Roman was sat next to Stephanie, she was sobbing into the wall whilst Roman did his best to comfort her.

"The herd's gone, Steph, we're safe now, you don't have to be scared anymore." Stephanie turned around to look at Roman.

"Are you sure? Did you check?"

"I didn't, but Carley did and she has no reason to lie. You can't even hear the herd now. You're going to be alright, just hang in there." Stephanie wiped her tear-stained faces and rubbed her puffy, red eyes.

"Alright, I'm okay now. So, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to try and hunker down here and stick it out as long as we possibly can."

"That's good, this place is safe, plus there's enough food for now."

"That's the spirit, Steph, you have to be positive about this or it won't work."

"Thanks for being here for me, I know it's annoying, but I really needed that and you were there for me."

"It's nothing, Stephanie, really. "

"You're sweet, could you bring me some water, please. I'm really thirsty."

''Sure thing, Stephanie." Roman walked out of the diner to get her water.

"Hi Stephanie, why were you so sad?" Clementine had seated herself across from Stephanie, her feet just about scraping the floor.

"Oh, it's you, I was just scared of the herd, they're gone now." Clementine looked at the young woman, she looked to be the same age as Ben.

"It's okay to be scared, I was scared of the herd too."

"I guess so, I just thought everyone would think I was dumb or something."

"Why would anyone think that?" Clementine didn't understand why Stephanie would think that.

"Because, everybody was scared, but I'm the only one who had a panic attack." Stephanie felt ashamed for reacting how she did, but she couldn't help it.

"It's not your fault, you're nice, nobody will think that you're dumb." Clementine was trying her best to comfort Stephanie and reassure her that her feelings were valid.

"Thank you, Clementine. You're a real nice kid."

"Thanks Stephanie." Roman placed the bottle of water on the table and slid it over to Stephanie.

"I see you've been taking care of Steph while I was gone, good job, Clementine."

"You're welcome, Roman. I like your jacket."

"Thank you, I like your hat, Clementine." Clementine smiled at the compliment and held her precious cap in her hands.

"My daddy gave it to me, before he left for a vacation. I haven't seen him since."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm- I'm so sorry. Your parents are always watching over you, they love you very much."

"What are you talking about?" Clementine was confused about what Roman was talking about.

"Heaven, sweetie, they're up there, looking down, guiding you."

Clementine began to cry. "They're not dead! They're not!" Clementine pushed past Roman and ran out of the diner.

Lee walked up behind Roman and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's going on? Why's she crying and shouting about her parents?"

"I told her that they were in Heaven, I thought she knew they were dead. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I promise."

Lee looked at Roman in disgust and walked over to Clementine, who was sat against a concrete wall on the ground.

"Hey, Sweet Pea, are you alright?"

"They aren't dead, Lee, they're not dead, I know they're not dead, because my parents wouldn't die. They're smart, Lee, they could make it, right?" Clementine was desperate for Lee to agree with her on this.

"Oh, honey, I need to tell you this now, you can be mad at me if you want, it's okay, just know that everything I do, I do for you." Clementine was terrified about what Lee was going to say.

"What? What are you saying?!" Lee held his arms out and Clementine leaned in for the hug, his arms had become a security blanket of sorts for the young girl.

"Your parents, I know they're dead. I heard them die on the messaging machine in your house. Your daddy was bitten and so was your momma, but if it makes you feel any better, her last words were, I love you." Clementine buried her head deep into Lee's chest and began to cry uncontrollably.

"No, no, no, it's not true, it's not true." Lee patted Clementine's back as he rocked her from side to side.

"I know, Sweetie Pie, it's awful, it's horrible. But, you have to live on for them. You're strong and brave, your parents would be so proud of the girl you've become."

Clementine kept crying for a solid hour, before falling asleep in Lee's arms.

Carley walked over and sat down next to Lee.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Lee was too sad to maintain a conversation with Carley.

"I understand if you don't want to talk, I'll just sit next to you."

"Thanks."

The two sat there for what felt like an eternity before Lee broke the deafening silence.

"I know that Clem had to find out eventually, but I needed her to hear it from me, not some stranger who's only been here less than twenty-four hours. I've been with her since the beginning, I should have been the one to tell her. I feel like such an asshole."

Carley put her hand on Lee's shoulder and he looked her in the face.

"I know what you mean, Lee. God, I wish we would have turned away those guys."

Lee shook his head.

"Carley, you realise if it weren't for them, we'd have no barricade, this is just as much their place as it is ours at this point."

Carley exhaled and looked up at the sky.

"I know, but I wish Roman didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, me too."

Lee stood up with Clementine in his arms, gesturing for Carley to get up and follow him. As he walked over to the RV, he saw Roman in the window and immediately looked away, still furious with him.

When Lee got inside the RV, he gestured for Becca and Shel to leave. They immediately got the message and left the three of them alone.


	13. Chapter 13

"So, what do you want to talk to me about that's so important we need to talk alone?" Carley was confused as to why Lee needed Becca and Shel gone.

"Because, Clementine's going to be going through a horrible, horrible fucking time because of Roman's dumb ass. I need at least one of us watching her at all times in case she decides to run off, do you understand, Carley?"

Carley nodded her head and looked at Clementine sleeping, her face was covered in tears and so was Lee's chest.

"Poor girl, poor, poor girl. I hope her birthday is better than today."

Lee looked down at Clementine in his arms, she was so light, not just typical eight year old light, scary light.

"We should get some food in her, poor thing hasn't eaten since this morning, it's about two o' clock now, that or my watch is busted."

Carley stood up and turned on the stove and started preparing food.

"Do you want to wake her, or should we wake her when it's done?"

Lee shook Clementine awake, gently, but firm enough to wake her.

"Hey, Sweet Pea, I know you're upset right now and I get it if you don't want to talk to me, but the food's going to be ready in a few minutes and you definitely need to eat."

"Okay." Clementine climbed off of his lap and sat at the table, awaiting her food.

"Clem, I know your birthday is tomorrow and I understand if you don't want to celebrate it, I can give you your present now if you like."

"A present? How did you get me a present?" Clementine looked up at Lee, somewhat excited, but still sad.

"Carley found it."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I'd like my present now, I guess. Thank you." Lee pulled the pack of multi coloured chalk from his pocket and handed it to Clementine.

"Thank you so much, you guys, these are better than the chalk at the motel." Lee frowned at the memory of the motor inn.

"Lunch." Carley brought over a small bowl of rice and a granola bar and slid it over to Clementine.

"Thanks Carley." Clementine tore open the granola bar and began munching on it.

"So, Clem, I know you're sad right now and believe me, I know how you feel, losing your parents, it's one of the worst feelings in the world. You can talk to me any time, alright, Sweet Pea."

"Okay Lee, I just wish I could have said goodbye to them. I miss them so much, in the back of my head I knew they were dead, but I just didn't want to believe it. I had to believe they were alive, because they're my parents and I love them."

"I know, Clem, your parents would be so proud of you, they'll always be with you, in here." Lee pointed at his own heart.

"At least I have you."

"And I have you, too." Clementine got out of her seat and hugged Lee.

"Promise me you won't leave me, Lee, I need you." Lee sighed, he wanted so badly to promise her that, but he couldn't guarantee that.

"I can't promise that, but I can promise to try and stay with you for as long as I can."

"Good enough." Clementine got back in her seat and continued eating her food.

"She's doing really well for someone who just found out her parents are dead." Carley looked at Clementine at the table, a look of concern to on her face.

"Little girl's seen death pretty much every day, non stop for months. It's more common than meal times at this point. I think she's just grateful to have answers."

"That's fucking depressing."

"Yeah, it is."

"I'm going to have a word with Roman, catch you later, Lee." Carley walked out of the RV and closed the door behind her.

"Is Roman in trouble?"

"Yes, Sweet Pea."

"Good."

Carley stormed over to Roman and positioned herself right in front of him, close enough to make him uncomfortable but not close enough to be outright threatening.

"Roman, why the fuck did you do that?!" Roman looked down at the ground, ashamed that he'd upset Clementine.

"I didn't know she didn't know, I wanted to comfort her. I'm sorry, alright?" Carley wasn't having any of it, she was absolutely furious with him.

"Oh, you're sorry, that makes everything okay. Let's forget that you've put an eight year old through extreme stress and now we're going tohave to deal with the fallout of her grief. That's fucking fantastic!" Everybody in the diner was staring at the two arguing.

"I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, Carley, please you have to understand, I didn't know."

"Don't you dare even look at Clementine from now on, understand?" Roman nodded his head and sat back in to the booth.

Lilly walked over and stood in front of Carley, her arms crossed.

"Carley, don't leave it like this, you know what happens when people in a group hate each other." Carley sighed and looked behind her at Roman.

"But, h-" Lilly interrupted Carley by putting her finger on the shorter woman's lips.

"This group needs to like each other in order for us to make it here, if the both of you are mad at each other, it'll just end badly for everyone. You know I'm right on this, you have to patch it up now before it's too late." Lilly turned Carley around and pushed her back over to Roman.

"Roman, I'm sorry, that was wrong of me. You didn't know, honestly we should have told her by now that her parents are gone. Look, I don't think Clementine will want to talk to you for a while, so I'd just give her some space. I'm really sorry that I blew up on you like that, I just had so much pent up anger already and I took it out on you. That wasn't okay and I hope you can forgive me."

Roman looked up at Carley, a glum look on his face.

"I'm not going to lie, I'm really hurt by what you said, but I appreciate that you've apologised. I'll give Clem her space, she'll need it." Carley turned back around to face Lilly.

"You happy now? Any other orders you'd like to relay to me, your majesty?" Lilly snorted at that and patted Carley on the shoulder.

"I'm fine, thanks for listening to me, Carley." Carley walked past her and back into the RV.

"Have you deal with Roman?"

"Yeah, he said he'd give Clem her space to grieve." Carley grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and sat down on the couch.

"Good to hear." Lee looked over to Clementine.

"What's wrong, Lee?" Carley took a swig of her water and screwed the cap back on.

"It should have been me to tell Clementine, she trusted me and I betrayed her trust."

"You can't think like that, Lee, she'll get over this, she still trusts you and you've been honest with her about everything else. That's still good, right?"

"But it ain't good, Carley, she needed me to tell her and I let her down."

"You didn't, she wasn't ready to hear it, hell, I don't think she'd ever be ready to hear that, you tried your best to shield her from the world, but you can't. She's going to need you more than ever and you need to be there for her, you're the closest thing she has to family at this point."

Carley leaned over to Lee and kissed him, she loved him so much.

"Alright, I will, thanks." Lee kissed Carley back.

"Ewwww, gross, I know you guys like each other, doesn't mean you have to kiss all the time." Clementine stuck her tongue out in jest and continued doodling in her notepad.

Carley began laughing uncontrollably, ending the romantic moment between the two.


	14. Chapter 14

*8 weeks later*

Since Clementine's birthday, the morale at Red's diner had gotten significantly worse, food had begun to dry up and all supply runs have come up with almost nothing, several Walker herds have come by and the barricade won't survive another attack. On top of that, two break ins have resulted in Shel losing a finger and Lilly receiving a bruise on her back that resembled the state of California.

The group was torn on whether or not they should leave.

"This place just isn't viable any more, there's nothing here, Roman." Carley was stood next to Lee, she had become increasingly paranoid about Clementine's safety.

"Don't say that, Carley, we've got a good thing going. A few attacks don't mean that this place ain't nice." Roman, Lilly and Stephanie refused to leave the diner, they were all adamant that the diner was safe.

"Safe? Shel had her finger cut off by some maniac who managed to climb in over the bus." Clementine was too busy writing on the ground in chalk, she'd been able to cope with her grief by writing letters to her parents on the ground.

"I'm not saying it's perfect here, but would ya rather be out there? On the same side as the herds?" Lee shook his head.

"Man, are you blind? You've seen the barricade, it won't survive another herd. There's not enough food here, me and Carley have been able to scrounge up enough gas from the surrounding vehicles to get out of here and find somewhere new. Anyone who doesn't want to starve is welcome to come with us, me, Carley and Clementine are leaving in a half hour, you don't have to follow us, but we ain't staying." Shel raised her arm.

"How do you know you'll find somewhere better? The supply runs haven't been exactly fruitful, y'know." Carley looked straight at Shel, a look of annoyance on her face.

"That's all the more reason to go, the diner's done, finished, over, it's no longer viable. It was great at first, but now we only have three days worth of food. If we all pile into the RV and leave now, we'll have three days to search for food before we start going hungry." Shel grabbed Becca's hand and walked over to Carley.

"You've convinced me, we're tagging along. You guys have done nothing but good by us and I don't want to lose any more friends." Roman huffed as Shel walked

"So that's it then? Fucking traitors, I expected better from you, Shel. I lead you through everything and you can't even be bothered to be loyal to me, go, you fucking treacherous dog." Roman spat onto the concrete, furious at her 'betrayal'.

Shel didn't respond to Roman's taunt and walked into the RV, Becca following closely.

"Roman, she ain't doing this to spite you, she just knows that this place ain't gon' last. Come on, man, you know I'm right on this. Have I ever done you wrong before?" Lee and Roman had grown close since the incident involving Clementine.

"But, Lee, this is the closest to normal we've been since this began. I don't want to leave, I'm so sick of drifting from place to place." Lee walked over to Roman and placed his hand on Roman's shoulder.

"I know, man. I know, but we can't stay here. You know we're right." Lee turned to face Lilly. "This is just like the Motor Inn, Macon was picked clean, this place is picked clean, we have to go."

Lilly huffed and turned around to face the diner. "I just want stability, this place has been that. I know it's hopeless, but I don't want to go." Carley grabbed Lilly's hand.

"Places change, people don't, come with us. I know that it isn't ideal, but you can move around with us until we find somewhere we can stay." Lilly sighed as she know that holding on to the Diner was hopeless.

"Okay, you guys have done so much for me despite everything I put you through. I'm coming." Lilly walked into the RV.

"You're right, this place isn't worth it anymore, let's go." Roman and Stephanie walked into the RV.

Lee walked over to Clementine and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Sweet Pea, we have to go now." Clementine got up from the ground and wiped off her dress.

"I hope my mom and dad read my letters." Lee crouched down to look her in the eyes.

"Trust me, honey, they're watching you and they still love you. Even though they're not here anymore, they're still looking out for you, now come on, we have to go." Clementine nodded and Lee picked her up.

Carley walked into the barricade bus, she trusted her best to move it out of the barricade without incident, but due to her shaky, tired hands, she broke the brick wall behind her into a million pieces, were they still living here, that'd be a major safety risk. Carley eventually got it out of the way and the RV parked in the road for her to get on.

As she walked in, she saw that Clementine was sobbing quietly on the couch, as she closed the door behind her and locked it, Carley sat herself beside the orphaned little girl.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Clementine buried her head in Carley's chest.

"I want my mom and dad." Carley wrapped her arms around Clementine as she looked around the RV.

Lilly was sat beside Lee, a map in her hands and Lee behind the wheel. Roman, Stephanie, Becca and Shel were all sat at the table. Shel and Roman weren't speaking.

"I know, I know. It's going to be alright, it's okay to be sad. It's natural." Carley was trying her best to comfort the young girl, but because she was only nine, it was difficult for her to process.

After what felt like hours, Clementine drifted off to sleep in Carley's arms. Almost instantly, Clementine found herself somewhere else.

"Where am I?" Clementine couldn't see anything except for the sky and the clouds beneath her feet.

"Clementine?" Clementine turned around to see her mom and dad. They were alive! She ran to them as fast as she could.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Clementine jumped into her Fathers arms. "I thought you were dead, but you're here, you can't be dead."

"Don't be silly, we're not dead." Clementine's mother stroked her hair as her father held her in his arms.

This was the happiest she'd felt in forever, Lee was wrong about her parents, they were fine.

Suddenly her dad dropped her and let out a loud scream of pain. Her mother followed immediately after him.

"What's wrong?!" Clementine blinked and everything changed, her parents skin had gone from brown to a sickly grey and both of them were covered in dirt and blood. A bite mark was on her father's shoulder and her mothers pant leg had blood dripping from the thigh, presumably where she'd been bit.

"Nothing's wrong, baby. Come back to mommy." Clementine was paralysed with fear as her walker parents stumbled menacingly towards her.

She tried her best to crawl away, but by the time she got out of her fear induced paralysis, her parents were too close to escape.

Just as they were about to bite her, the clouds underneath Clementine vanished and she began falling. As she fell to the ground, she couldn't help but scream and cry as she reached the ground.

Clementine screamed as she woke up, startling everyone and forcing Lee to stop the RV.

"Hello?!" A voice from outside the RV frightened everyone on board.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey guys, I'm sorry I haven't updated the story in forever, it's just that I've been really busy as of late and I don't know what to do with the story.

You see, the way I write isn't very structured and thus I never had a plan for the story. I just kind of came up with stuff on the spot, so if I have writer's block, there's not really much that I can do.

Don't worry, though, because the story will be completed. Whether or not that's soon though, I have no idea.

Feel free to give me suggestions and advice.


End file.
